


Symbol of Terror

by fearman182



Category: The Reckoners - Brandon Sanderson, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 10:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20357230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fearman182/pseuds/fearman182
Summary: When people started to manifest powers, the world did not celebrate; it collapsed, not a small part being because of the fact that there seemed to be no heroes. No matter what form their abilities took or how bright they dressed themselves, one and all of those blessed with new strength were vile, twisted people, who used their abilities to lord over those less fortunate, often viewing them as little more than simple animals to be ruled.Foremost of them, ruling Japan with an iron fist, is the infamous Symbol of Terror - All Might.





	Symbol of Terror

The day All Might appeared was one that would never leave Izuku's mind - nor anyone else of that small number who had survived the event, he suspected.

  
It had been a simple enough day so far; his mother had brought the 10-year-old boy out on a number of errands for the day; a doctor's visit, a package to be sent, and now, groceries to buy. He'd been antsy for a good chunk of it, but did his best to behave regardless, thoughts of some of his favorite foods for dinner keeping him focused. What did draw his eye, however, was the woman behind him and his mother in line.

  
She wasn't tall, or scary-looking. But she walked with an odd sense of arrogance, an air of regality. As she met Izuku's eyes, the red irises practically seemed to glow. He looked away in a hurry, not wanting to be rude.

  
Looking back on that day, having turned away was probably for the best, considering what happened next. There was a flash of light from behind; someone screamed. Izuku and his mother spun around; the woman had one hand raised, red flame flickering from the palm of her hand and a cruel smirk over her face. A small pile of ash surrounded by scorched tile sat where an old man had been just a moment before. Izuku gasped, eyes widening as he instinctively clung to his mother; she hurried to move her son behind herself. "Sh-sh, Izuku, quiet, quiet..." Her voice was shaking in terror, the same fear that now hung in the air like a thick blanket.

  
The woman stared down at the ashes with an expression of distaste; she kicked it across the floor as she raised her voice to address the shoppers, eyes lazily scanning across them before settling on the cashier cowering behind the counter. "I see I have your attention. Good."

  
"This world is about to change, everyone. In ways you could never dream of. Now, this change doesn't _have_ to end with you as unfortunate piles of ashes like this man. Violence will come. But all you have to do to live right now, is kneel for me, and obey me." All the while, her eyes continued to move lazily between people like a snake in the shadows. "Well? I'm waiting."

  
There was a long moment of silence before she raised her voice to a scream. "I said, KNEEL!"

  
The gathered bystanders hurriedly moved to their knees, Izuku's mother included. Her hand gripped tightly against his shoulder, so much so it hurt as she brought him down with her; his heart thudded a thousand miles an hour as he fought the urge to run. "Mom?" His mother's voice was stuttery, fearful as she whispered in his ear. "B-Be quiet, Izu, it'll be okay s-soon. I promise - we just need to be quiet, and someone will c-come."

  
A soft _clack-clack-clack_ reached Izuku's ears, so faint he almost couldn't hear it from its place behind the counter. The woman frowned - evidently she'd heard it too. Her shoes clicked against the tiles as she strode over to it, leaning over the side to squint down at the cashier. "Calling someone? What a shame. I'd hoped not to have to reduce anyone else here." Despite the apologetic words, her tone was anything but as she reached forward, flames wreathing against her hand again. Izuku's mother quickly covered his eyes, but it did nothing to block out the agonized screams of the cashier as he was burned away.

  
"Do I need to make any more examples for you?" That shrill voice rang out, breaking the terrified silence. "No? Good. Get up; everyone start walking to the wall, over there." Izuku struggled to make himself move; his mother stood with the crowd, doing her best to help him along. "That's right, easy. Now, you all just stay right there for a minute while I think. I'm sure you're wondering who I am by now; you can call me Phoenix."

  
It ended up being a lot longer than a minute, standing there against that wall; the woman talked a lot, mostly just repeating herself about how the world was changing and how she'd be able to make sure the people who obeyed her would live through the change. Izuku was half-listening, and half trying to keep himself from succumbing to the fear that had turned from a blaring alarm in his head to more of a dull dread of the situation. "So. I think you get the idea; you're all going to follow me, or you're going to be-"

  
She was cut off, though, as the ceiling suddenly exploded in a shower of plaster dust and rubble. The tiles cratered beneath the new arrival, as a figure emerged from the dust; Izuku coughed hard, trying to cover his mouth with his hands as best he could. A booming voice rang in the chaos as flame flooded from Phoenix's hands, spiraling around her as she spun to face the new intruder. "And what exactly is going on here?"

  
No answer came from Phoenix, beyond a sudden gout of flame pouring over the massive figure in front of her - or at least, the space he'd been in. The dust in the air rushed to the side as he moved, a blur of bright colors and noise; a fist the size of a bowling ball slammed into her side with a sickening crack, sending her through the shelves with a loud crash; her crumpled, broken body didn't move from the pile of torn metal it lay in. The crowd was silent for a moment before a few began to tentatively clap; Izuku looked up at his mother, tears dripping down from her eyes as a shaky smile broke over her.

  
Relief flooded his mind as he started to clap - before he froze as he caught the massive blonde man's eye, saw the massive, toothy grin on his face - and in those eyes, Izuku saw much the same cruelty that Phoenix had demonstrated.

  
He felt his mother's hand tighten on his shoulder again as the color drained from their faces. Turning, the man started to move towards where Phoenix still lay, broken on the ground. Immediately when the new threat's back was towards them, Izuku's mother pushed him towards the doors. "Go, Izu. Go, hide- I'll be right behind you, just go!"

  
Izuku hesitated, legs frozen in place as he looked at his mother, then over to where the huge silhouette was now kneeling in the dust, lifting up Phoenix by the neck. He took a deep breath - but it was cut off as another flare of flame overtook him. Izuku turned and ran for the doors as panic overrode the sense that he couldn't just leave his mother, not now.

  
As he dove through the doors, a deafening rumble seemed to roll through the ground; the building seemed to shift, then buckle. The boy stumbled and fell, raising a hand over his head as the sound grew to a crescendo. Dust rushed past him, stinging his eyes and causing him to break into a new coughing fit - and with a final _crash,_ the building crumpled like wet cardboard, steel structure bending and screeching as it broke.

  
For a long moment, he simply stared numbly at the broken structure, unable to believe what his eyes were showing him. The rubble shifted once more - and a massive figure leaped upwards from the ruined building.

  
Remembering the last thing his mother had said to him, Izuku turned and ran.

* * *

“Hey. Kid. What are you doing here?”

  
Izuku looked up from where he’d been curled in the alleyway, head buried in his arms. He wiped away a tear, pulling back a bit in reflexive fear as he opened his mouth to speak; no words came out, as if his voice had simply decided to leave.

  
The man standing in front of him was tall, messy black hair tumbling back over his shoulders and stubble covering his jaw. At Izuku’s lack of a response, he sighed. “Is your mother anywhere around here?”

  
Still unable to speak, Izuku silently raised a trembling hand, pointing to the rubble of the freshly-collapsed market; sirens sounded in the distance of emergency services on the way. For a moment, the man’s expression softened. “I see.” Turning, he kneeled down in front of Izuku, offering a hand to the boy, who simply stared back in confusion. “Come on,” the man said. “He might still be around here somewhere; it’s not safe.”

  
With the same dazed expression, Izuku slowly reached out to take the man’s hand and let himself be lead away, trying to ignore the sounds of the building behind him.

* * *

_“Eyewitnesses claim that the store was destroyed by a fight between two individuals, one of whom was buried in the rubble after the victor knocked out a major section of the outer walls.”_

  
Izuku could barely taste the food from the plate in front of him; he didn’t eat much of it. Most of his attention was divided between his own thoughts and the dim TV screen in the living room. He could only see a sliver of it from his vantage point, peeking around the beaten-up couch and well worn door frame; but a sliver was plenty.

  
The news lady’s voice was calm, even as she continued to go through the terrible facts in front of her. _“We’ve received footage from the incident itself - viewer discretion is advised.”_ Izuku leaned over, trying to get a glimpse of the screen.

  
It wasn’t a high quality video; blurry and shaky, but that made sense given the situation. He could just barely make out that same massive figure of a man standing with his fists against his hips, looming over someone out of sight; the tufts of hair sticking up from the front of his head would probably be ridiculous, if not for the sheer power that figure gave off. The familiar voice reached his ears again, though he hadn't heard this part, and a surge of terror shot through him as if he were back there again.

  
_“What do you think you’re doing? These aren’t yours - they need to witness me, spread MY name!”_

  
Aizawa frowned from across the table. “Hey. Don’t watch that - you already saw what happened, you don’t need to terrorize yourself more with it.”

  
Yes, he’d seen it already. Already heard that boisterous, yet cruel voice -- heard the snap of bone as its owner tossed the terror he was succeeding aside like a ragdoll-

  
_“That’s right, little people. Run, scream, yell it to the sky - tell them all my name!”_

  
Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, raising his hands over his ears, but it did nothing to block out the sound of that cruel name.

  
_“All Might!”_

  
The TV flicked off. Izuku opened his eyes again, looking up to meet the tired-looking man’s eyes again. He sighed. “Look, kid. It… it was a real tragedy. I know. But you can’t let yourself be afraid after it's over; not if you want to honor the people who died.”

  
Again, there was a moment of silence before he continued. “My name is Aizawa. You can stay here, if you want; it’s not safe for a kid like you out there right now.”

  
“...Midoriya.” Izuku’s voice was raw and quiet, almost inaudible. Aizawa didn't comment on it.

  
“You can stay here for a bit, Midoriya. I’ll keep you safe.”

  
Aizawa talked a bit more - Izuku tuned him out, his thoughts always drifting back to that cruel grin beneath blonde hair - the face that would haunt his nightmares for years to come, and the booming, cruel voice calling its name.

  
_All Might._

**Author's Note:**

> Short opening, I know, but I wanted to get this up before I forgot about it again. Ensuing chapters will ideally be longer, especially once we get into heavier sequences and plot.
> 
> Leave comments, I need the tips and criticism!


End file.
